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FORT MYERS, Fla. – The USC Upstate volleyball team claimed the first set (28-26), but the homestanding Florida Gulf Coast Eagles claimed sets two, three and four to escape with the victory in Atlantic Sun Conference action Friday night inside Alico Arena.

In the first set, the Spartans (6-12, 2-4 A-Sun) held a slim 10-8 advantage, but won five of the next seven points to increase the advantage to five at 15-10.  The Eagles (11-8, 5-1) fought back and had set point at 24-22 before Upstate fought back to tie the match at 24-24.  With the set tied at 26-26, the Spartans were able to take a 1-0 lead thanks to back-to-back attack errors by FGCU.

Upstate took an early 2-1 advantage in the second set, but the Eagles quickly moved in front, 3-2, and led the rest of the way as they took set number two, 25-22.

The Eagles were able to ride the momentum of the second set win to an early 10-5 lead in the third set.  Following an Upstate timeout, the Eagles continued to push ahead as they scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 18-7 lead.  The Spartans again tried to halt the Eagle momentum by taking a timeout, but the Eagles went on to claim the set, 25-11.

The fourth set followed the same pattern as the second set.  Upstate took a 3-2 lead early, but FGCU was able to hold of the Spartans by a similar margin, 25-22, to claim the match, 3-1.

The Spartans were led by Emily Sanders double-double of 32 assists and 10 digs.  Sanders now has 2,069 career assists which leads all current A-Sun players.  Morgan Page and Amanda Carroll tallied 10 digs while Mindy Quimby finished with 12 kills and eight digs.

Three different Eagles registered double-digit kills Friday.  Jessica Barnes led the way with 20, while Jill Hopper and Jelena Simic followed with 15 and 14, respectively.  Gigi Meyer lead the way in assists with 52.

The Spartans return to the court tomorrow as they travel to DeLand, Fla., to face A-Sun foe Stetson.